Co-driver Miikka Anttila.
The Waltikka rally opened the summer season in Finland. I was quite excited because the roads were very fast. We had ran all the necessary tests on the car, so it was totally ready for this race. The rally began better than I could have hoped. I was second on special stage one. Only half a second away from the first. Arriving to first service I was 3rd, but not far from the 2nd position. At the end of SS4 I had a puncture and lost some time. But it didn´t bring me down, quite the opposite. I got the strength to carry on to SS5. I beat everyone on SS6 making the fastest time for the first time in my life in Finnish Rally Championship! On second service break I had risen to 2nd position and was able to keep that place until the end. But retirement wasn´t very far. The clutch broke down in the end of the last special stage and we just made across the finishing line in time!
2nd overall, Class 2nd
Toyota Corolla WRC
Service team Latvala Motorsport Oy.
Rally engineer Asko Kosonen